New $123 million nursing initiatives look to retain, recruit Manitoba staff

A nurse works on her shift at the William Osler Health System - Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

WINNIPEG -

The Manitoba government is creating nine initiatives to retain and recruit nurses, with $123 million in funding from the Health Human Resource Action Plan.

The funding was announced by Health Minister Audrey Gordon Friday morning.

"Nurses are an incredibly valued member of the health-care workforce who provide critical services under sometimes extraordinary pressures," said Gordon.

"We are already beginning to see positive results from these strategic investments and I want to assure all of Manitoba's health-care providers that more supports are on the way as the Health Human Resource Action Plan is rolled out."

The new incentives include a new hourly premium for nurses who work weekend hours and a new annual payment for nurses who hold the equivalent of a full-time position.

The province said it would also be reimbursing the costs of nurses' professional licensing fees.

Several initiatives look at keeping nurses working, like an annual incentive for nurses who are eligible to retire but choose to remain in the workforce for up to an additional two years and an incentive for nurses who have previously left the profession but choose to return to the workforce.

A new refer-a-nurse program for current nurses who refer a prospective nurse to a Manitoba employer will also be put in place by the Manitoba government.

Gordon added a provincial float pool to support nurse staffing needs will also be created.

The last two incentives are a travel nurse incentive which will provide an additional hourly premium for nurses who travel to work in remote locations, and a wellness incentive, which adds additional funds to the health spending accounts of full and part-time nurses to help to cover the costs of eligible expenses.

"The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is experiencing higher staff vacancies as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as is the case across Canada," said Mike Nader, the WRHA's president and CEO, in a news release. "We are beginning to see positive uptake on these new incentives. We thank the Manitoba government for this significant investment in support of the recruitment and retention of nurses in Winnipeg."

At the announcement, Gordon noted the new wellness incentives are one of several projects underway to improve the work environment and safety of nurses in Manitoba.

She said the provincial government is consulting with stakeholders like the Manitoba Nurses Union to design additional programs to support the well-being of nurses, including mentorship and peer support.

"We view this announcement as a very necessary and positive step in addressing the significant recruitment and retention issues for Manitoba's nurses," said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, in a news release.

"We will always work diligently and share our ideas and approaches to get our health-care system back to where it needs to be. Nurses are problem solvers and we are anxious to develop and see the implementation of further effective measures for all nurses to solve the many challenges of our nursing human resource crisis."

The new incentives are part of the Health Human Resource Action Plan, which launched in November 2022. At the time the province committed to adding 2,000 health-care providers, investing $200 million to retain, train and recruit health-care staff across the province, and eliminating mandated overtime.

The province said since its launch, more than 330 new health-care providers like nurses, health-care aides, physicians and other staff who provide bedside care have been hired.